A plague of SPAM

My business email has been a relatively safe haven from SPAM since I opened the account in June 2007. Whether this is indicative of poor marketing on my part, or because of the fact that I use that address almost solely for business correspondence, I have been happy to stay off the SPAMmers' collective radar. Up until recently, the only unsolicited emails I received were for Indian marriage web sites (weird, eh?).

But July has seen an uptick in the amount of email squirreliness perpetrated upon my business account. On a daily basis, I receive one or more emails from obviously spamtastic addresses, with one-word subject lines like "rambunctious" or "supercilious." Fortunately my email provider sees them for what they are and forwards them to my spam folder, but because it also occasionally forwards legitimate emails to that folder I always check it before permanently deleting the contents. This week, the SPAM even transformed into SPIM (SPAM+Instant Messaging). I got a handful of IM requests from the same address before I reported it (declining the request the first time I got it apparently only validated my email address, which apparently gave the green light to keep on a-sending the SPIM).

I have been SPIM-free for two days now, and I'm hoping that trend holds. I'm not sure there's anything else I can do to slow the SPAM, as it's already being treated as garbage by my provider. Any suggestions? Anybody else being unusually deluged with SPAM? Do you think having SPAM in the title, body (repeatedly) and tags of this post is going to get it blocked from any search engines?

I hear what you're writing

I've noticed a disturbing trend on TV of late . . . text on the screen (often in annoying graphic layouts, but that's another rant for another day) accompanied by a voice-over or talking head who is speaking the words as they appear on the screen. Not summarizing. Not paraphrasing. Saying EXACTLY what is on the screen.

Attention producers of my local news promos and national prime time TV teasers: if I can read it, I don't need to hear it . . . and if I can hear it, I don't need to read it. This applies to presentations, and it should apply to television as well. If I wanna read my TV, I'll turn on the closed captioning.

Back to the grind

I'm back from a nice, albeit not a relaxing, vacation. After a week of driving my mom to visit relatives, actually visiting the relatives, and a midweek trip to the Hocking Hills region of Ohio for a zipline tour (SO FUN!), I was completely exhausted by last night. It was great getting to spend time with my mom, though.

And now here I am on Monday morning, preparing to meet with a brand new client. Not a bad way to start a new week!

Analyze this

This is my last post until the 27th . . . it's vacation time!! Woohoo!

I thought I would leave you with this gem of an article from Smashing Magazine about Google Analytics. It's a fascinating read if you are considering using the free service, and even if you already use it. I had no idea GA had some of these capabilities!

One of my clients directed me to the article, and I thought I would do you, dear reader, the same favor. Happy reading, and I'll type to ya again next week!

10 books

One of my friends tagged me on a Facebook quiz/meme/note thingy that instructed me to list "ten books you've read that always stick with you." However, one of the rules said to list the "first ten books that come to mind."

These are vastly different lists. The first books that come to mind are mostly what I'm reading now, or are connected by stream of conscious to something I'm reading now--none of which necessarily "stick" with me . . . so I think I need to make two lists, which is in direct opposition to another rule, "do not think about this." But since I am typing this here and not on Facebook, I don't feel compelled to follow the rules to the letter. So here are my two lists. Let's see if there's any overlap.

The first ten books that come to mind:

1. Where the Red Fern Grows
2. The Misadventures of Jusin Hearnfeld
3. The Observations
4. The Tenth Circle
5. My Sister's Keeper
6. Never Sniff a Gift Fish
7. Fluke
8. Interview With the Vampire
9. Living Dead in Dallas
10. California Demon

And the ten that stick with me:

1. Where the Red Fern Grows
2. Fluke
3. Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa
4. Green Eggs and Ham
5. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
6. Romeo and Juliet
7. Great Expectations
8. The World According to Garp
9. The Talisman
10. Bag of Bones

What are your "top tens?"